Davide Fieschi: a pioneer of plug repair in groin hernia surgery

Plug repair actually represents one of most recommended procedures in open groin hernia repair. It is generally recognized that Lichtenstein in 1968 first introduced the plug technique for femoral and recurrent inguinal hernia. The present paper backdates more than 50 years the first application of a plug due to an ingenious Italian surgeon named Davide Fieschi.